EP0449527A2 - Cleaning blade and producing method thereof - Google Patents
Cleaning blade and producing method thereof Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0449527A2 EP0449527A2 EP91302523A EP91302523A EP0449527A2 EP 0449527 A2 EP0449527 A2 EP 0449527A2 EP 91302523 A EP91302523 A EP 91302523A EP 91302523 A EP91302523 A EP 91302523A EP 0449527 A2 EP0449527 A2 EP 0449527A2
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- rubber
- resin
- cleaning blade
- blade
- molding
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
- 238000004140 cleaning Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 36
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims description 19
- 229920001971 elastomer Polymers 0.000 claims abstract description 63
- 229920005989 resin Polymers 0.000 claims abstract description 37
- 239000011347 resin Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 37
- 229920002379 silicone rubber Polymers 0.000 claims abstract description 14
- 239000002033 PVDF binder Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 10
- 229920002981 polyvinylidene fluoride Polymers 0.000 claims abstract description 10
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 5
- 238000000465 moulding Methods 0.000 claims description 29
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 claims description 27
- 238000002844 melting Methods 0.000 claims description 13
- 230000008018 melting Effects 0.000 claims description 13
- 239000000843 powder Substances 0.000 claims description 13
- 239000010410 layer Substances 0.000 claims description 8
- 239000011247 coating layer Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 238000005520 cutting process Methods 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000010419 fine particle Substances 0.000 description 20
- 239000000314 lubricant Substances 0.000 description 12
- 239000011248 coating agent Substances 0.000 description 11
- 238000000576 coating method Methods 0.000 description 11
- 238000005299 abrasion Methods 0.000 description 9
- 229920006311 Urethane elastomer Polymers 0.000 description 8
- 239000002245 particle Substances 0.000 description 6
- -1 polytetrafluoroethylene Polymers 0.000 description 6
- 238000011156 evaluation Methods 0.000 description 5
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 description 5
- 238000010068 moulding (rubber) Methods 0.000 description 5
- 239000004743 Polypropylene Substances 0.000 description 4
- 239000011159 matrix material Substances 0.000 description 4
- 229920001155 polypropylene Polymers 0.000 description 4
- 229920001187 thermosetting polymer Polymers 0.000 description 4
- 238000002347 injection Methods 0.000 description 3
- 239000007924 injection Substances 0.000 description 3
- 230000001050 lubricating effect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000005259 measurement Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000012546 transfer Methods 0.000 description 3
- 229920006038 crystalline resin Polymers 0.000 description 2
- 238000000113 differential scanning calorimetry Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000006185 dispersion Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000000806 elastomer Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 description 2
- 229920001343 polytetrafluoroethylene Polymers 0.000 description 2
- 239000004810 polytetrafluoroethylene Substances 0.000 description 2
- 230000035484 reaction time Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000012360 testing method Methods 0.000 description 2
- JOYRKODLDBILNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N Ethyl urethane Chemical compound CCOC(N)=O JOYRKODLDBILNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 239000004698 Polyethylene Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000470 constituent Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000001816 cooling Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000000354 decomposition reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000007547 defect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000002950 deficient Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000009826 distribution Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000003384 imaging method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000002156 mixing Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229920000728 polyester Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 229920000573 polyethylene Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 230000002265 prevention Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000009257 reactivity Effects 0.000 description 1
- 150000003673 urethanes Chemical class 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
- G03G21/00—Arrangements not provided for by groups G03G13/00 - G03G19/00, e.g. cleaning, elimination of residual charge
- G03G21/0005—Arrangements not provided for by groups G03G13/00 - G03G19/00, e.g. cleaning, elimination of residual charge for removing solid developer or debris from the electrographic recording medium
- G03G21/0011—Arrangements not provided for by groups G03G13/00 - G03G19/00, e.g. cleaning, elimination of residual charge for removing solid developer or debris from the electrographic recording medium using a blade; Details of cleaning blades, e.g. blade shape, layer forming
- G03G21/0017—Details relating to the internal structure or chemical composition of the blades
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
- C08L—COMPOSITIONS OF MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS
- C08L83/00—Compositions of macromolecular compounds obtained by reactions forming in the main chain of the macromolecule a linkage containing silicon with or without sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen or carbon only; Compositions of derivatives of such polymers
- C08L83/04—Polysiloxanes
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
- C08G—MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED OTHERWISE THAN BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVING UNSATURATED CARBON-TO-CARBON BONDS
- C08G77/00—Macromolecular compounds obtained by reactions forming a linkage containing silicon with or without sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen or carbon in the main chain of the macromolecule
- C08G77/04—Polysiloxanes
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a cleaning blade for use in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copier, a printer, a facsimile apparatus or the like, and more particularly to a cleaning blade to be maintained in contact with the surface of an image bearing member to be cleaned thereby removing the toner remaining on said surface, and a producing method therefor.
- an image forming apparatus designed to repeat a process of transferring a toner image, formed on the surface of an image bearing member, onto a transfer material such as paper
- blade cleaning method in which an edge of high precision formed with rubber elastomer is maintained in uniform contact with the surface of the image bearing member to slide on said member, thereby removing the toner remaining thereon.
- Said rubber elastomer is generally composed of urethan rubber, and thermosetting liquid urethanes are particularly preferred in consideration of the superior abrasion resistance thereof.
- the cleaning blade composed of urethane rubber generates, because of a high friction coefficient of the urethane rubber, a very high friction force between the blade and the image bearing member in the initial stage of sliding motion when the toner is absent therebetween. Consequently the cleaning blade of urethane rubber may be inverted as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 3 or may bounce on the image bearing member in the initial stage of sliding motion, thereby becoming unable to remove the remaining toner.
- the Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 61-48881 proposes to disperse the lubricant in the urethane rubber material.
- the lubricant only locally appears on the surface as shown in Fig. 4, and the inversion or bouncing of the blade cannot be completely prevented as the urethane rubber used as the matrix considerably influences the behavior.
- the thermosetting liquid urethans are unsuitable for mass production, since they require a long reaction time for thermosetting and have high reactivity with moisture in the air.
- a rubber material of low friction resistance and short reaction time for example silicon rubber with satisfactory stability in ambient conditions, is effective for preventing the blade inversion or bouncing and is suitable for mass production.
- silicon rubber is easily abraded and cannot be used for a long time, since the blade edge is abraded by the friction with the image bearing member or with the toner.
- An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning blade with improved slidability and a producing method therefor.
- Another object of the present invention is to provide a rubber blade in which resin powder is dispersed, and a producing method therefor.
- Still another object of the present invention is to provide a silicon rubber blade having a resin coating, and a producing method therefor.
- Still another object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning blade formed by vulcanizing rubber, in which resin powder is dispersed, at a temperature higher than the softening point or melting point of the resin, and a producing method therefor.
- the present inventors have found that the friction coefficient between the contacting surface of the image bearing member with the cleaning blade and an edge forming surface of said blade has a significant influence on the aforementioned inversion or bouncing of the blade, and also on the abrasion or chipping-off of the edge of the blade. More specifically, referring to Fig. 5, if an edge portion 20 of the cleaning blade tends to be turned over while the image bearing member 1 is in motion, a face 22 adjacent to a contacting face 21 of said blade comes into direct contact with said image bearing member 1, thus leading to the blade inversion or blade bouncing. Also the abrasion or chipping-off of the edge 20 is principally caused by the stress concentration on the face 22 showing such turning-over.
- the present invention is based on the novel concept mentioned above.
- fine particles of lubricating resin which is not mutually soluble with rubber, are dispersed in a normally liquidous rubber material, and then a rubber member of a desired shaped from said rubber material by molding the same in a mold.
- Said molding of the rubber material is conducted in a condition where said fine particles are not molten but remain dispersed, under a temperature condition T1 ⁇ T10 ⁇ T2, wherein T1 is the primary vulcanizing temperature at which the molding is conducted, T2 is the heat resistance of the rubber member (corresponding to the decomposition temperature of the constituent molecules, determined in DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) measurement), and T10 is the melting point or softening point (measured by ring-ball method) of the fine particles.
- T1 is the primary vulcanizing temperature at which the molding is conducted
- T2 is the heat resistance of the rubber member (corresponding to the decomposition temperature of the constituent molecules, determined in DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) measurement)
- T10 is the melting point or softening point (measured by ring-ball method) of the fine particles.
- the condition T1 ⁇ T10 is preferred for maintaining the uniformly dispersed state of the resin particles in the rubber at the molding operation, since, if the rubber molding temperature T1 is selected equal to or higher than T10, the fine particles dispersed in the rubber material are fused at the molding operation so that the mixing state becomes undefined for example depending on the stress at the molding operation.
- molded rubber member containing the fine particles dispersed therein, can improve the abrasion resistance when said member is composed of easily abraded silicon rubber. Therefore improved cleaning ability can be achieved in comparison with the case without such fine particles.
- the surface coating of the cleaning blade is achieved by the fine particles present therein as explained above, it is possible to form a sufficiently thick coating also on the edge portion, which is most difficult to coat in case the coating is formed from outside.
- Fig. 1 three faces of the blade are coated by the fine particles 30, but practically acceptable performance can be obtained if the coating is formed at least on the face 21′ contacting the image bearing member and the face 22′ adjacent thereto.
- the surface characteristics are principally governed by the properties of the initially dispersed fine particles as shown in Fig. 1, so that the inversion, bouncing, abrasion and chipping-off of the blade can be prevented by the selection of suitably lubricating particles.
- the elasticity of the entire blade is ensured by the rubber material constituting the matrix.
- the matrix rubber material not coming into direct contact with the image bearing member, can be arbitrarily selected from various materials, and can be composed of silicon rubber superior in mass producibility and in elastic property.
- the cleaning blade is cut, after the removal thereof from the mold, at the edge position (portion to contact the image bearing member) in order to improve the precision of the edge, there will be obtained a section face on which exposed are a number of fine particles dispersed uniformly in the rubber material. Thus there is securely obtained a thicker coating layer so that the cleaning operation can be achieved in improved manner.
- the surfaces were covered with PVDF as shown in Fig. 1, particularly thicker in the cut portion (heat resistance of rubber material: ca. 270°C).
- a polypropylene layer was formed on the surface in a similar manner as in the example 1.
- the molding temperature was higher than the melting point of the fine particles, the dispersion state thereof became unstable, and the obtained surfacial polypropylene layer showed fluctuation in thickness.
- Table 1 summarizes the results of evaluation
- Fig. 2 summarizes the results of measurement of friction resistance.
- the examples 1 to 4 exhibit satisfactory initial imaging ability, and are improved in the durability.
- the example 4 showed fluctuation in the thickness of the surfacial resin layer, with locally thin parts, so that the improvement in durability is less than that in the examples 1 to 3. Consequently the rubber molding temperature should preferably satisfy the condition T1 ⁇ T10 as explained before.
- the reliability of blade with respect to the inversion can be judged from the friction resistance shown in Fig. 2, which shows the friction resistance between the blade and the organic photosensitive member in ordinate, as a function of contact pressure in abscissa.
- the friction resistance in ordinate is represented by a relative value in arbitrary scale.
- the reference example 1 "without lubricant” corresponds to a level of causing inversion, as will be apparent from the above-explained results.
- the reference example 1 "with excessive lubricant” employs a large amount of lubricant for preventing the inversion, thus causing defects in the image.
- the examples 1, 2 and 3 are comparable to the reference example 1 with excessive lubricant, indicating that they are sufficiently reliable with respect to the blade inversion.
- the friction resistance of the example 4 is higher than that of the examples 1, 2 and 3 but is lower than that of the reference example 1 (no lubricant) or the reference example 2.
- the reference example 2 showed a lower friction resistance than in the reference example 1 without lubricant and did not show inversion at the evaluation, but the reliability cannot be said sufficient.
- the fine particles of resin to be dispersed need not necessarily be crystalline but can be those with a sharp molecular weight distribution having a clear softening point. Nevertheless the crystalline particles having a melting point are preferable.
- the rubber molding temperature is preferably selected lower than the melting point and the vulcanizing temperature is preferably selected higher than said melting point as in the foregoing examples.
- the rubber molding temperature is preferably selected lower than the softening point of said resin, and the vulcanizing temperature is preferably selected highter than said softening point.
- the fine particles in the foregoing examples are composed of PVDF or polypropylene, but there may also be employed other materials such as polyethylene or polyester.
- the rubber material is not limited to silicon rubber, but there may be employed any other rubber meterial on which surface coating is possible by the secondary vulcanizing. Nevertheless silicon rubber is preferred in consideration of superior mass producibility and elastic characteristics.
- the content of the resin particles is preferably within a range from 20 to 80 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the rubber, since an amount less than 20 parts leads to an excessively thin surface coating, while an amount in excess of 80 parts will deteriorate the elasticity of the rubber matrix.
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- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
- Medicinal Chemistry (AREA)
- Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
- Organic Chemistry (AREA)
- Cleaning In Electrography (AREA)
- Coating Apparatus (AREA)
Abstract
Description
- The present invention relates to a cleaning blade for use in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copier, a printer, a facsimile apparatus or the like, and more particularly to a cleaning blade to be maintained in contact with the surface of an image bearing member to be cleaned thereby removing the toner remaining on said surface, and a producing method therefor.
- In an image forming apparatus designed to repeat a process of transferring a toner image, formed on the surface of an image bearing member, onto a transfer material such as paper, it is desirable to completely eliminate the untransferred toner remaining on said member after each transfer process, in order to prevent the smearing of the image by the remaining or residual toner at the next transfer process. For this purpose there is widely employed so-called blade cleaning method in which an edge of high precision formed with rubber elastomer is maintained in uniform contact with the surface of the image bearing member to slide on said member, thereby removing the toner remaining thereon. Said rubber elastomer is generally composed of urethan rubber, and thermosetting liquid urethanes are particularly preferred in consideration of the superior abrasion resistance thereof.
- However, the cleaning blade composed of urethane rubber generates, because of a high friction coefficient of the urethane rubber, a very high friction force between the blade and the image bearing member in the initial stage of sliding motion when the toner is absent therebetween. Consequently the cleaning blade of urethane rubber may be inverted as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 3 or may bounce on the image bearing member in the initial stage of sliding motion, thereby becoming unable to remove the remaining toner.
- In consideration of such situation, there has been proposed and employed a method of reducing the frictional force between the urethane rubber and the image bearing member in the initial stage of the sliding motion, by coating the end portion of the cleaning blade of urethane rubber or the surface of the image bearing member with lubricating powder of fluorinated resin such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) (hereinafter represented as "lubricant"). However, excessive use of such lubricant may result in smearing of the developing unit or the charging unit, or may deteriorate the image quality because of electrical properties of such lubircant. It is therefore necessary to obtain uniform coating with a minimum possible amount, but such coating is technically difficult to realize and the obtained blade cannot be fully reliable with respect to the blade inversion or bouncing, due for example to fluctuation in the coating.
- In order to resolve this drawback, the Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 61-48881 proposes to disperse the lubricant in the urethane rubber material. However, in a simple dispersion system, the lubricant only locally appears on the surface as shown in Fig. 4, and the inversion or bouncing of the blade cannot be completely prevented as the urethane rubber used as the matrix considerably influences the behavior. Besides the thermosetting liquid urethans are unsuitable for mass production, since they require a long reaction time for thermosetting and have high reactivity with moisture in the air.
- On the other hand, a rubber material of low friction resistance and short reaction time, for example silicon rubber with satisfactory stability in ambient conditions, is effective for preventing the blade inversion or bouncing and is suitable for mass production. However silicon rubber is easily abraded and cannot be used for a long time, since the blade edge is abraded by the friction with the image bearing member or with the toner.
- An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning blade with improved slidability and a producing method therefor.
- Another object of the present invention is to provide a rubber blade in which resin powder is dispersed, and a producing method therefor.
- Still another object of the present invention is to provide a silicon rubber blade having a resin coating, and a producing method therefor.
- Still another object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning blade formed by vulcanizing rubber, in which resin powder is dispersed, at a temperature higher than the softening point or melting point of the resin, and a producing method therefor.
- Still other objects of the present invention will become fully apparent from the following description.
-
- Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a cleaning blade embodying the present invention;
- Fig. 2 is a chart showing the relationship between the contact pressure of the blade and the friction resistance thereof;
- Fig. 3 is a schematic view showing an inversion phenomenon of the blade;
- Fig. 4 is a schematic view showing fine particles dispersed in the blade; and
- Fig. 5 is a schematic view showing a contacting part between the blade and the image bearing member.
- Now the present invention will be clarified in detail by preferred embodiments thereof.
- The present inventors have found that the friction coefficient between the contacting surface of the image bearing member with the cleaning blade and an edge forming surface of said blade has a significant influence on the aforementioned inversion or bouncing of the blade, and also on the abrasion or chipping-off of the edge of the blade. More specifically, referring to Fig. 5, if an
edge portion 20 of the cleaning blade tends to be turned over while theimage bearing member 1 is in motion, aface 22 adjacent to a contactingface 21 of said blade comes into direct contact with saidimage bearing member 1, thus leading to the blade inversion or blade bouncing. Also the abrasion or chipping-off of theedge 20 is principally caused by the stress concentration on theface 22 showing such turning-over. Consequently, in order to prevent the inversion, bouncing, abrasion and chipping-off of the blade, in addition to the prevention of the above-mentioned turning-over phenomenon by a reduction in the friction coefficient of thecontact face 21, it is also very effective to reduce the friction coefficient of theface 22 which comes into contact with the image bearing member when the blade tends to be turned over. - The present invention is based on the novel concept mentioned above.
- In an embodiment of the present invention, fine particles of lubricating resin, which is not mutually soluble with rubber, are dispersed in a normally liquidous rubber material, and then a rubber member of a desired shaped from said rubber material by molding the same in a mold. Said molding of the rubber material is conducted in a condition where said fine particles are not molten but remain dispersed, under a temperature condition T1 < T10 < T2, wherein T1 is the primary vulcanizing temperature at which the molding is conducted, T2 is the heat resistance of the rubber member (corresponding to the decomposition temperature of the constituent molecules, determined in DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) measurement), and T10 is the melting point or softening point (measured by ring-ball method) of the fine particles. The condition T1 < T10 is preferred for maintaining the uniformly dispersed state of the resin particles in the rubber at the molding operation, since, if the rubber molding temperature T1 is selected equal to or higher than T10, the fine particles dispersed in the rubber material are fused at the molding operation so that the mixing state becomes undefined for example depending on the stress at the molding operation.
- Thus molded rubber member, containing the fine particles dispersed therein, can improve the abrasion resistance when said member is composed of easily abraded silicon rubber. Therefore improved cleaning ability can be achieved in comparison with the case without such fine particles.
- Then thus obtained rubber member is subjected to a secondary vulcanizing, by heating in an oven at a temperature T20, satisfying a condition T10 < T20 < T2. In this operation, the
fine particles 30 dispersed at the surface or in the vicinity thereof are fused, thus covering the surface as shown in Fig. 1 because of the lack of mutually solubility with the rubber material, and form asurfacial layer 25 upon subsequent cooling. - As a sufficiently thick resinous coating layer is formed particularly on the
face 22′ which comes into contact with the image bearing member when the blade starts to show the turning-over, the abrasion or chipping-off of the blade can be prevented even if the blade shows certain running-over. - As the surface coating of the cleaning blade is achieved by the fine particles present therein as explained above, it is possible to form a sufficiently thick coating also on the edge portion, which is most difficult to coat in case the coating is formed from outside.
- In Fig. 1, three faces of the blade are coated by the
fine particles 30, but practically acceptable performance can be obtained if the coating is formed at least on theface 21′ contacting the image bearing member and theface 22′ adjacent thereto. - In thus obtained
cleaning blade 20, the surface characteristics are principally governed by the properties of the initially dispersed fine particles as shown in Fig. 1, so that the inversion, bouncing, abrasion and chipping-off of the blade can be prevented by the selection of suitably lubricating particles. On the other hand, the elasticity of the entire blade is ensured by the rubber material constituting the matrix. The matrix rubber material, not coming into direct contact with the image bearing member, can be arbitrarily selected from various materials, and can be composed of silicon rubber superior in mass producibility and in elastic property. - If the cleaning blade is cut, after the removal thereof from the mold, at the edge position (portion to contact the image bearing member) in order to improve the precision of the edge, there will be obtained a section face on which exposed are a number of fine particles dispersed uniformly in the rubber material. Thus there is securely obtained a thicker coating layer so that the cleaning operation can be achieved in improved manner.
- In the following there are shown and evaluated examples of the present invention and reference examples for comparison.
-
- Rubber material:
- addition type liquid silicon rubber
- Fine particles:
- PVDF (particle size 10 µm or less) (melting point 170°C), 50 parts by weight to 100 part by weight of rubber
- After the removal from the mold, the edge portion was cut in a shape shown in Fig. 4, and the secondary vulcanizing was conducted under the following conditions:
Secondary vulcanizing temperature: 200°C
Secondary vulcanizing time: 4 hours
Molded product: rubber hardness JISA 73. - The surfaces were covered with PVDF as shown in Fig. 1, particularly thicker in the cut portion (heat resistance of rubber material: ca. 270°C).
- Molding, removal from the mold and cutting of edge portion were conducted with the same materials and conditions as in the example 1.
- Then the secondary vulcanizing was conducted by heating for 60 seconds at 250°C, and then for 4 hours at 200°C.
Molded product: rubber hardness JIS 73 - Because of the treatment at high temperature (250°C), the PVDF particles present relatively deep in the surfacial area emerged to the surface and contributed to the formation of layer, so that the obtained PVDF layer was thicker than in the example 1.
-
- Rubber material:
- addition type liquid silicon rubber (same as in the example 1).
- Fine particles:
- crystalline polypropylene; 50 parts by weight to 100 parts by weight of rubber (melting point: 145°C).
- After the removal from the mold, the edge portion was cut in the same shape as in the example 1, and the secondary vulcanizing was conducted under the following conditions:
Secondary vulcanizing temperature: 200°C
Secondary vulcanizing time: 4 hours
Molded product: rubber hardness JISA 71 - A polypropylene layer was formed on the surface in a similar manner as in the example 1.
-
- Rubber material:
- same as in the example 3
- Fine particles:
- same as in the example 3
- After the removal from the mold, the edge portion was cut in the same shape as in the example 3, and the secondary vulcanizing was conducted under the following conditions:
Secondary vulcanizing temperature: 200°C
Secondary vulcanizing time: 4 hours.
Molded products: rubber hardness JISA 71 - Because the molding temperature was higher than the melting point of the fine particles, the dispersion state thereof became unstable, and the obtained surfacial polypropylene layer showed fluctuation in thickness.
-
- Rubber material:
- thermosetting liquid urethane rubber
- Fine particles:
- none
- After the secondary vulcanizing, the edge portion was cut in the same shape as in the foregoing examples.
Molded product: rubber hardness JISA 65 -
- Rubber material:
- same as in the example 1
- Fine particles:
- none
- The blades obtained in the foregoing examples and reference examples were mounted in a copying machine, and subjected to the evaluation of inversion, bouncing, cleaning ability and abrasion resistance under the following conditions:
Image bearing member: organic photosensitive member.
Process speed: 50 mm/sec. - These performances were evaluated by a durability test of 5,000 copies.
- With respect to the blade inversion in the initial stage, since reliability cannot be evaluated in several tests, there was conducted measurement of the friction resistance between each blade and the organic photosensitive member.
-
- As shown in Table 1, the examples 1 to 4 exhibit satisfactory initial imaging ability, and are improved in the durability.
- However, the example 4 showed fluctuation in the thickness of the surfacial resin layer, with locally thin parts, so that the improvement in durability is less than that in the examples 1 to 3. Consequently the rubber molding temperature should preferably satisfy the condition T1 < T10 as explained before.
- On the other hand, in the reference example 1, absence of lubricant on the blade or on the photosensitive member caused inversion of blade, while use of excessive lubricant caused smearing of the charger or the developing unit, leading to defective image. Also the reference example 2 exhibited frequent abrasion or chippings of the blade, resulting in unsatisfactory cleaning.
- The reliability of blade with respect to the inversion can be judged from the friction resistance shown in Fig. 2, which shows the friction resistance between the blade and the organic photosensitive member in ordinate, as a function of contact pressure in abscissa. The friction resistance in ordinate is represented by a relative value in arbitrary scale.
- In Fig. 2, the reference example 1 "without lubricant" corresponds to a level of causing inversion, as will be apparent from the above-explained results. On the other hand, the reference example 1 "with excessive lubricant" employs a large amount of lubricant for preventing the inversion, thus causing defects in the image.
- The examples 1, 2 and 3 are comparable to the reference example 1 with excessive lubricant, indicating that they are sufficiently reliable with respect to the blade inversion.
- The friction resistance of the example 4 is higher than that of the examples 1, 2 and 3 but is lower than that of the reference example 1 (no lubricant) or the reference example 2.
- The reference example 2 showed a lower friction resistance than in the reference example 1 without lubricant and did not show inversion at the evaluation, but the reliability cannot be said sufficient.
- The fine particles of resin to be dispersed need not necessarily be crystalline but can be those with a sharp molecular weight distribution having a clear softening point. Nevertheless the crystalline particles having a melting point are preferable. In case crystalline resin powder is employed, the rubber molding temperature is preferably selected lower than the melting point and the vulcanizing temperature is preferably selected higher than said melting point as in the foregoing examples. In case non-crystalline resin powder is employed, the rubber molding temperature is preferably selected lower than the softening point of said resin, and the vulcanizing temperature is preferably selected highter than said softening point.
- The fine particles in the foregoing examples are composed of PVDF or polypropylene, but there may also be employed other materials such as polyethylene or polyester.
- Also the rubber material is not limited to silicon rubber, but there may be employed any other rubber meterial on which surface coating is possible by the secondary vulcanizing. Nevertheless silicon rubber is preferred in consideration of superior mass producibility and elastic characteristics.
- The content of the resin particles is preferably within a range from 20 to 80 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the rubber, since an amount less than 20 parts leads to an excessively thin surface coating, while an amount in excess of 80 parts will deteriorate the elasticity of the rubber matrix.
- The present invention has been explained by examples thereof, but the present invention is not limited by such examples and is subject to any variation within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.
Molding conditions:
Molding was conducted in a rubber injection molder in which inserted was a support member subjected in advance to an adhesion treatment:
Molding temperature: 140°C
Molding time: 150 seconds
Molding conditions:
Molding was conducted in a rubber injection molder in which inserted was a support member subjected in advance to an adhesion treatment:
Molding temperature: 120°C
Molding time: 10 minutes
Molding conditions:
Molding was conducted in a rubber injection molder in which inserted was a support member subjected in advance to an adhesion treatment:
Molding temperature: 170°C
Molding time: 60 seconds
Molding conditions:
Molding temperature: 130°C
Molding time: 30 minutes
Secondary vulcanizing temperature: 130°C
Secondary vulcanizing time: 4 hours
Molding conditions: same as in the example 1
Molded product: rubber hardness JISA 62.
Claims (21)
- A cleaning blade comprising:
a base member composed of silicon rubber; and
a resin layer formed on said base member. - A cleaning blade according to claim 1, wherein said base member has an edge, and said resin layer is so formed as to cover said edge.
- A cleaning blade comprising:
a base member composed of rubber in which resin powder is dispersed;
wherein said rubber is vulcanizable at a temperature higher than the softening point of said resin powder. - A cleaning blade comprising:
a base member composed of rubber in which resin powder is dispersed;
wherein said rubber is vulcanizable at a temperature higher than the melting point of said resin powder. - A cleaning blade according to either of claims 3 and 4, wherein said rubber is silicon rubber.
- A cleaning blade according to any of claims 1, 3 or 4 wherein said resin is fluorinated resin.
- A cleaning blade according to either of claims 3 and 4, wherein the molding temperature of said rubber is lower than the softening point of said resin.
- A cleaning blade comprising:
a base member composed of silicon rubber in which resin powder is dispersed;
wherein said resin is crystalline. - A cleaning blade according to any of claims 3, 4 and 8, wherein said resin is polyvinylidene fluoride.
- A cleaning blade according to any of claims 3, 4 and 8, wherein the molding temperature of said rubber is lower than the melting point of said resin.
- A cleaning blade according to claim 8, wherein the vulcanizing temperature of said rubber is higher than the melting point of said resin.
- A cleaning blade according to any of claims 3, 4 and 8 provided, on the surface thereof, with a coating layer formed by fusing of said resin powder.
- A cleaning blade according to any of claims 3, 4 and 8 for cleaning a member bearing a toner image thereon by removing the toner remaining thereon, arranged to be maintained with said coating layer in contact with said image bearing member.
- A method for producing a cleaning blade comprising:
a first step for dispersing resin powder in a rubber material;
a second step for molding said rubber material; and
a third step for vulcanizing the molded rubber at a temperature higher than the softening point of said resin. - A method for producing a cleaning blade comprising:
a first step for dispersing resin powder in a rubber material;
a second step for molding said rubber material; and
a third step for vulcanizing the molded rubber at a temperature higher than the melting point of said reinn. - A method according to either of claims 14 and 15, further comprising a step for cutting an end of rubber between said second and third steps.
- A method according to either of claims 14 and 15, wherein the molding temperature of said rubber material is lower than the softening point of said resin.
- A method according to either of claims 14 and 15, wherein the molding temperature of said rubber material is lower than the melting point of said resin.
- A method according to either of claims 14 and 15, wherein said rubber is silicon rubber.
- A method according to either of claims 14 and 15, wherein said resin is crystalline.
- A method according to claim 20, wherein said resin is polyvinylidene fluoride.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP2074208A JP2801349B2 (en) | 1990-03-24 | 1990-03-24 | Cleaning blade, method of manufacturing the same, and cleaning apparatus having cleaning blade |
JP74208/90 | 1990-03-24 |
Publications (3)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0449527A2 true EP0449527A2 (en) | 1991-10-02 |
EP0449527A3 EP0449527A3 (en) | 1992-04-08 |
EP0449527B1 EP0449527B1 (en) | 1995-06-14 |
Family
ID=13540545
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP91302523A Expired - Lifetime EP0449527B1 (en) | 1990-03-24 | 1991-03-22 | Cleaning blade and producing method thereof |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US5204034A (en) |
EP (1) | EP0449527B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2801349B2 (en) |
DE (1) | DE69110330T2 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN117021435A (en) * | 2023-05-12 | 2023-11-10 | 浙江闽立电动工具有限公司 | Trimming control system and method of trimmer |
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JPH06282122A (en) * | 1992-04-16 | 1994-10-07 | Canon Inc | Blade member, method for attaching blade member, process cartridge, method for assembling process cartridge and image forming device |
JPH0792876A (en) * | 1993-04-28 | 1995-04-07 | Canon Inc | Image forming device |
JPH07219339A (en) | 1994-01-31 | 1995-08-18 | Canon Inc | Elastic blade, manufacture thereof and developing device |
US5776395A (en) * | 1994-06-07 | 1998-07-07 | Bando Kagaku Kabushiki Kaisha | Method and apparatus for making a blade for electrophotographic devices |
US5882789A (en) * | 1995-06-07 | 1999-03-16 | Pechiney Recherche | Packaging material for forming an easy-opening reclosable packaging material and package |
US5882749A (en) * | 1995-06-08 | 1999-03-16 | Pechiney Recherche | Easy-opening reclosable package |
US6400918B1 (en) | 1996-01-12 | 2002-06-04 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Cleaning device and image forming apparatus using the cleaning device |
US6393250B1 (en) | 1996-11-29 | 2002-05-21 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Cleaning apparatus and image forming apparatus |
JP3990760B2 (en) * | 1997-03-03 | 2007-10-17 | キヤノン株式会社 | Image forming apparatus |
JP2002049275A (en) | 2000-08-02 | 2002-02-15 | Canon Inc | Image-forming device |
DE60319912T2 (en) * | 2002-06-03 | 2009-04-16 | Ricoh Co., Ltd. | Image forming apparatus with a cleaning blade |
US7177570B2 (en) * | 2003-02-28 | 2007-02-13 | Ricoh Company, Limited | Measurement of frictional resistance of photoconductor against belt in image forming apparatus, process cartridge, and image forming method |
US20040170841A1 (en) * | 2003-02-28 | 2004-09-02 | Canon Kasei Kabushiki Kaisha | Process for producing cleaning blade, and electrophotographic apparatus |
JP2008116582A (en) * | 2006-11-01 | 2008-05-22 | Sharp Corp | Cleaning blade and image forming apparatus |
JP5849977B2 (en) * | 2013-03-08 | 2016-02-03 | 富士ゼロックス株式会社 | Cleaning blade, cleaning device, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus |
US9927762B2 (en) | 2016-05-31 | 2018-03-27 | Lexmark International, Inc. | Biased lubricant applicator brush in imaging device |
US10120324B2 (en) | 2016-12-07 | 2018-11-06 | Lexmark International, Inc. | Lubricant metering for photoconductor in imaging device |
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EP0435342A2 (en) * | 1989-12-29 | 1991-07-03 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Cleaning blade and apparatus employing the same |
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-
1991
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- 1991-03-22 EP EP91302523A patent/EP0449527B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1991-03-22 DE DE69110330T patent/DE69110330T2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
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EP0384354A2 (en) * | 1989-02-20 | 1990-08-29 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Cleaning blade and electrophotographic apparatus making use of it |
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Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN117021435A (en) * | 2023-05-12 | 2023-11-10 | 浙江闽立电动工具有限公司 | Trimming control system and method of trimmer |
CN117021435B (en) * | 2023-05-12 | 2024-03-26 | 浙江闽立电动工具有限公司 | Trimming control system and method of trimmer |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
DE69110330D1 (en) | 1995-07-20 |
JP2801349B2 (en) | 1998-09-21 |
EP0449527B1 (en) | 1995-06-14 |
JPH03274079A (en) | 1991-12-05 |
DE69110330T2 (en) | 1995-11-23 |
EP0449527A3 (en) | 1992-04-08 |
US5204034A (en) | 1993-04-20 |
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